Black Country car cruising ban extended until 2021
An injunction banning car cruising in the Black Country has been extended for a further three years by the High Court.
The injunction bans people from taking part in a car cruise anywhere within Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall – or from 'promoting, organising or publicising' any event in the four areas.
Since it was introduced in 2015, 17 people have been convicted of breaching the injunction, either by taking part in or organising a car cruise, and have received suspended prison sentences, been fined up to £1,000 and ordered to pay court costs.
The four Black Country boroughs, led by Wolverhampton council and West Midlands Police, successfully sought a continuation of the injunction until February 1, 2021 at the Birmingham District Registry of the High Court yesterday.
His Honour Judge McKenna, sitting as a High Court judge, said: “The measures are reasonable and proportionate and I am content to extend the order for another three years.”
Councillor Paul Sweet, Wolverhampton council's cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, said: "Car cruising is noisy, dangerous and illegal, causing damage to property and posing a risk of injury or worse to participants and the general public alike.
"It also takes up a lot of valuable time for our hard-pressed emergency services.
“Since its introduction in 2015, the injunction has helped to dramatically reduce the menace of car cruising across the Black Country, eliminating it altogether in certain areas.
“However, the problem has not been entirely eradicated; car cruises are still being held in our region, sometimes with fatal consequences.
“We are therefore pleased that the High Court has extended the injunction for a further three years, enabling the police and local councils to continue to crackdown on car cruising and to bring perpetrators to book.”
